A couple weeks ago, I spoke with Alex Tuch about his impact in front of the net on the power play and his forechecking prowess.
It was a fascinating talk, and among other things, Tuch touched on what he's learned from Tomas Holmstrom.
The 6'5" winger has enjoyed a discernible effect on the Golden Knights' man advantage. Since his call-up, the Vegas power play's success rate has improved from 5.9 to 20.3%. Obviously, this swing isn't all due to Tuch, but the eye test and underlying numbers suggest that the PP is better with him than without.
Here are his current RelT (Relative to Team) power play figures:
• +52.89 Power Play Corsi For/60
• +25.91 Shots For/60
• +22.93 Scoring Chances For/60
• +11.96 High-danger Corsi For/60
• +3.68 Goals For/60
• +2.11 Expected Goals For/60
Essentially, Tuch has been a part of a lot more power play attempts, shots, scoring chances, high-danger chances, goals, and expected goals than virtually all of his teammates. At just over 40 minutes of PP time so far this season, we're dealing with a small sample size, but regardless, I feel confident extolling the strapping winger's net front virtues.
HockeyBuzz: You've been a huge presence on the power play since you've come up. But being the net front guy is not just about being 6'5". Can you talk about the other skills you bring to the net front?
Alex Tuch: Yeah, the first part of it is getting your body in front, bring a bigger body. It helps a lot.
But it is a skill set. You do have to know where to be, where to position yourself to make it harder on the goalie.
Having some good hands in tight helps me a little bit too. That's something I work on a lot. And also, being able to tip pucks.
I work on it everyday. I try to continue to be a presence in front and tip as many pucks as possible.
HB: In the same vein, you shown yourself to be a bit of a puckhound. And that's also not just about being big and fast. Can you talk about other skills, such as angling, which you might apply on the forecheck.
AT: Yeah, that's a big part of it. And knowing where to go first, that's the first thing about it.
We play a very aggressive forecheck. I like the style that coach has me playing.
Just trying to cause turnovers. It helps having a fast guy like Leipsic come in and support me. He can get in the scrums too and get the pucks out easily.
HB: In these areas we've discussed, net front and forechecking, who are some of the guys you model your game after?
AT: If you're talking about a forecheck guy, kind of a gritty, hard-nosed guy, it's a Kesler. He gets in on the forecheck. He bangs bodies, causes a lot of turnovers. He's really good in front of the net too.
Then you got guys like Franzen or Holmstrom. They're unbelievable in front of the net. Tipping pucks. I watch video on them to see how they did it.
It's an old-school technique, I guess, tipping pucks and being in front of the net, but it's not going to go away because goalies are too good nowadays.
HB: Can you point out something you've learned from a Holmstrom?
AT: I'd probably say positioning. Knowing where to make the goalie look. If you go back to [Miller's goal on 10/21/17], the goalie was looking at the far side. He had to look around me on the far side. Millsy put it top right and the goalie didn't really have a chance. He didn't know where it was coming from.
As soon as Millsy goes to shoot, guy knows he's probably going short side high, but he's still trying to get over there and hoping it just hits him.
HB: Do you angle your body in a certain way?
AT: No, it's just positioning. It's all positioning. I've worked really hard with Coach Craig on that and it's helped a lot.
2017 Hockey Hall of Fame
I'm currently in Toronto, covering the 2017 Hockey Hall of Fame induction class for NBC Asian America.
Regardless, I'm keeping an eye on the Golden Knights and was able to speak to Dave Andreychuk and Igor Larionov on some Vegas-related happenings.
I talked with Andreychuk about his net front prowess and dropped Tuch's name. The 2017 Hall of Fame inductee had some interesting things to say about why a net front presence is easier to establish these days, despite the fact that fewer players are doing it.
Russian great Larionov, who's a player agent now, seemed to be the perfect person to ask about the Vadim Shipachyov saga, but he was reluctant to say much. Regardless, there was an interesting nugget or two there.
Dave Andreychuk
HockeyBuzz: You obviously made a career of the power play. Besides being big and strong, what do you need to be an impact net front presence?
Dave Andreychuk: You got to have good guys around you, right? I played with some really, really good defensemen. Phil Housley, Dave Ellett, Todd Gill, Ray Bourque...all good players. That's the key for me. I wasn't going to do too much on my own. But if they could get me the puck in front of the net, things were going to happen.
HB: Today, who are the net front guys who you admire?
DA: You don't really stand in front of the net anymore, right? You got to move the puck, there's so much pressure on the PK. There's a lot of guys who can do it, but the game has changed a lot from the '80s and '90s.
HB: But there are still guys like Wayne Simmonds, Alex Tuch...
DA: Sure, there are still bigger guys who get to the front of the net. And it's a lot harder to move them out. Because you can't crosscheck them or anything, right?
Igor Larionov
HockeyBuzz: You're a player agent now. Have you been keeping up with the Vadim Shipachyov situation?
Igor Larionov: No, I have no idea. I've read, but I cannot make any comments. It's not my guy. Keep me out of it.
HB: He did say one thing of general interest recently. He said Russian players should think 10 times before they go to the NHL. Is that something you agree with?
IL: No, no, no. It's a very deep question. I can describe it to you, but it's not in my interest now [because this weekend is about the inductees].
It's sad. But what can you do?
***
Stats as of 11/12/17, courtesy of Corsica, Hockey Reference, Natural Stat Trick, NHL.com, and Sporting Charts.
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